


The Miracle of Mako

by InsomniacTiger



Series: Embracing New Dreams [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Cloud Strife Needs a Hug, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Past Zack Fair/Aerith Gainsborough, Post-Advent Children (Compilation of FFVII), Post-Canon Fix-It, Spoilers, Starting Over, Zack Fair Lives, Zack Fair Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:48:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28597959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsomniacTiger/pseuds/InsomniacTiger
Summary: Zack Fair was dead. Until the day that he stepped into Seventh Heaven asking to see Cloud. Its too good to be true. Because... how could he be here?
Relationships: Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Series: Embracing New Dreams [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095536
Comments: 10
Kudos: 117





	The Miracle of Mako

Shinra’s grunts had left a mess. They overdid it as usual. Of course, knowing who they were up against nothing short of Sephiroth could have stopped him. And supposedly Sephiroth was dead. Officially anyway.

When Reno landed the helicopter, he stepped out to see what was left.

Cissnei had been ordered to remain in the Shinra Manor to help with clean up, she was too emotionally attached to the situation and had already gone against orders once for this particular acquisition.

As he kneeled down next to what was left of Zack Fair he sighed.

There was a lot of work to be done here. It was possible… just maybe… but it was a long shot.

“Ouch. They really did a number on him.” Reno muttered finally following him over.

There was no need to respond to that.

“So, what do we do? We can find his home town and say it was a KIA?”

“No. Unfortunately I made a certain promise to a persistent flower peddler. He’s coming with us.”

“For what? This isn’t like before… they tore him up.”

He gestured for Reno to help him lift the SOLIDER and move him into the helicopter. “We’re Turks. We don’t quit.”

Reno looked down at the man who had caused them so many problems recently, but was once considered a comrade of sorts. He wouldn’t consider himself friends with Zack, but he sure as hell respected him. “Yeah. True. Alright boss, tell me where to fly him.”

Tseng checked his PHS and showed his subordinate the coordinates. “Here should work.”

“On our way.”

* * *

There was blood and feathers everywhere.

Gunfire turned into the sound of beating wings.

Zack tried to open his eyes but it was harder than ever before. Even the time he escaped the containment units in the… Manor…

Realizing that he was floating in Mako once again he felt his heartbeat quicken.

Had he never escaped?

Were those nine months on the run with Cloud just… a dream?

No.

He spoke with people!

Fought Genesis!

That couldn’t have been a dream!

It was a monumental effort to turn his head, but he saw the container next to him was drained of fluid. Completely empty.

Cloud was gone.

A distorted shape stepped up to his container, he saw a hand press against the glass for a moment before there was a loud hiss.

He was being released.

When the door opened small, yet strong, arms reached out for him and led him away from the machinery and to a bed.

Once his vision properly returned, he saw the familiar brown hair and pale skin. Her hair was longer now, pulled into a side ponytail.

“Cissnei?”

“Hello Zack,” She smiled. “How are you feeling?”

Something was wrong. She looked different, older. Though her demeanor was calm, he could see the worry in her eyes.

“I’m fine? I think. Definitely been better. Cissnei what happened to me?” She had propped him up against the bed’s headboard which was considerate since he still couldn’t feel his limbs. They were slowly warming up, coming back to life with a tingling feeling in his veins.

“What do you remember?” She asked him bringing him back from focusing on his nonresponsive arms.

“Well, Cloud and I escaped. We were heading toward Midgar… I needed to see Aerith. Cloud had Mako poisoning. Extreme case… But he just needed time to recover. He’ll be just fine. Then… I found Genesis and…” He frowned. It was all getting muddled together. He was missing a lot and he knew it.

“What is your very last memory?”

“Cloud.” Zack nodded. “I gave Cloud my sword.”

“Why did you give him your sword?” She asked quietly.

That was a good question. Why would he give away the Buster Sword? It was precious to him. Angeal had given it to him… the only reason he would pass it on is if he was…

It all came back in a moment.

He closed his eyes as pain jolted through his mind.

Gunfire.

Blood.

Wings.

Feathers.

“I died.” He whispered. “Damn Shinra… I’ve died twice now because of them!” He growled wanting to lash out but his limbs were still not responding as they should.

Cissnei waited till he seemed to calm down.

“Cissnei… last time… Cloud and I had been… _away_ for a long time.”

“Four years.”

“Yeah. How… how bad was it this time?”

“Three years.”

“Hey, I’m getting better at this then.”

“Let’s not make it a habit.” She grins tiredly.

He chuckles. “Heh. Yeah. I don’t plan to.” He rested his head heavily against the headboard. “So, I assume I now owe my life or something to the Turks?”

She shook her head getting up to mess with the machinery across the room, seemingly shutting it all down. “No. You’re here as a favor to someone else. My orders are to take care of you until you wake. Help you recover in anyway needed, then send you on your way.”

He frowned. “That sounds too good to be true. The Shinra and Turks I know wouldn’t be that generous.”

“Quite a bit has happened Zack… You’ve missed a lot. But know this. Nobody in Shinra knows you are here, or that you ever left that cliffside. Also… you are not here because of Turks. You are here because Tseng made a promise.”

“To me? He promised to watch over Aerith.”

“He made a promise to her as well.” Cissnei said quietly as she handed him a small box. It was full of letters. “These are for you. When you’ve read them… we have a lot to discuss.”

He instantly recognized the handwriting on all of them.

Why was Cissnei so… sad?

He pulled out the first of many to read.

* * *

Two weeks.

That’s how long he’d been awake now. He had yet to leave the room he had woken in beyond a full bathroom that Cissnei said was for him. She disappeared into another part of the building often, usually with an apology of leaving him on his own.

The truth was, he didn’t mind that she left him on his own. But he did want out.

It had taken him the first week to accept everything he had missed. The Meteor. Sephiroth. Aerith’s death.

He had cried.

He had thought of all the ways he could have done things differently to help prevent certain events.

But in the end Cissnei reminded him that he had a huge part in helping save the planet.

Because he had saved Cloud.

And Cloud, with the help of some friends, had saved the planet.

None of that would have been possible if Zack hadn’t saved Cloud from the Manor and kept him hidden for nine months while he recovered from severe Mako poisoning.

It was the beginning of the third week when Cissnei walked into the room and Zack was doing his usual routine of squats.

“Hey! When am I allowed to leave? You said I wasn’t a prisoner, right?” He grinned at her not stopping his reps.

“I was waiting for you to fully recover, which clearly you have.” She smiled softly.

She always seemed a bit sad and disconnected.

Zack knew it was because she had spent the last three years alone playing nurse maid to an unconscious body.

They both needed to move on from here.

“Where are you planning to go?” She asked him.

“Where else?” He grinned. “I’ve got a best friend to go find.”

* * *

When he arrived in Edge it wasn’t hard to find Seventh Heaven, where he had been informed that Tifa ran a bar and Cloud ran a delivery service. Cissnei had updated him on everything. Tifa had been the girl from Nibelheim, not that he had forgotten her, and she was the current guardian of two children. Neither belonged to her or Strife, but they looked over them anyway.

When he had been dropped off the outskirts of Edge, Cissnei had gotten Reno to drive them out there. 

“Good luck talking with Strife man.” Reno chuckled, the red head was still having a hard time believing that Zack Fair, SOLIDER First Class, was up and walking these days.

The miracle of Mako.

“That blond bastard is still the biggest pain in the ass to hold a conversation with.”

Zack shook his head. Cloud had never seemed that unapproachable before? Of course, a lot has happened in three years. But surely his fellow country boy didn’t change too drastically.

Stepping into Seventh Heaven he recognized Tifa right away. She was no longer the small-town country girl. She had always seemed tough, but now she had a certain awareness to her. No more cute cowgirl boots and hat, she was dressed in what could be casual to the untrained eye. But he knew better. Those gloves of hers were definitely not for keeping her hands warm. He could tell she had been through hell and back. But she still smiled and welcomed him into her business anyway.

Until their eyes met.

“How?” She gasped.

“Hey Tifa.” He waved stepping closer. “It’s been awhile. You’ve certainly gotten stronger.” He went for a friendly tone, but he could tell it wasn’t working as well as he was hoping for.

“Y-you died. Cloud said…”

“Heh yeah… funny how you can’t keep a good SOLIDER down right? Speaking of Cloud, is he around?”

She nodded.

“I know this is weird. Me not being dead and all, but I was really hoping to see him.”

“I’ll go get him…” She ran up the stairs.

* * *

Cloud wouldn’t let Zack out of his sight for the next week. Which really, Zack had no complaints. Last time he’d seen his friend he was still in a vegetative state, heavily under the influence of Mako poisoning. Seeing the blonde move about and functioning again was beyond comforting. Reno was an ass, but his words did ring a bit true.

Cloud was hard to talk to.

At first.

It didn’t take long for him to start acting like the fellow Back Water Expert Zack remembered. Even a bit of his Nibel accent appeared more when they were hanging out.

Tifa agreed that Zack was welcome to stay with them, and didn’t question when Cloud set up a place in his own room for him to stay. But she was a bit protective of the kids the first few days. However, Denzel and Marlene were not to be dissuaded from meeting one of Cloud’s ‘old friends’.

“So, who are you anyway?” Denzel asked finally managing to get around Tifa’s list of chores set to keep the kids busy when Zack was around.

Zack laughed at the frown that the kid was giving him. The crossed arms over the chest solidified the ‘Strife look’ that was clearly being mimicked, if subconsciously.

“I’m Zack. I was good friends with Cloud back before everything happened a couple years ago.”

“Then where have you been?”

“Asleep.”

“The whole time?” Marlene piped up from next to Denzel.

“Yeah actually.” He scratched at the back of his neck, but grinned down at the kids. “Crazy right?”

They both seemed to be considering the validity of his words.

“Were you… sick too?” Denzel asked quietly.

“I guess you could say that.”

“I was sick. So was Cloud. But then he found the water at the Church!” Denzel grinned. “Did he get you the magic water too?”

Magic water? Did the kids mean Mako? In its purest form it was like water… “Uh, sort of? A friend of mine helped me out.”

“Friends are important!” Marlene nodded. “My daddy says that if you can’t count on your friends you can’t count on nobody!”

Zack stared at her surprised at how aggressively she suddenly sounded, but was still smiling sweetly. “That’s good advice.”

The kids, satisfied that Zack was a good friend, asked him more questions about what he did before he was sick. And he told them, granted he left a few bits out, considering how Shinra had impacted their lives he didn’t want to scare them off. But it didn’t seem to bother them too much.

“So that’s how you know Cloud! You were both SOLDIERS!” Denzel exclaimed suddenly.

Zack nodded amiably, not wanting to correct him.

Because there was no point.

Cissnei didn’t have all the facts exactly on what had happened to Cloud’s Mako ridden mind after Zack’s death. But Reno and Rude had turned in reports early on that the ‘escaped specimen’ was calling himself an ex-SOLDIER, and seemed to have the right eyes for it.

That was one of the many things that they had yet to discuss.

Cloud was like a SOLIDER in many ways, but he didn’t seem to quite have the muscle mass that most First Class eventually gained.

Zack assumed it had something to do with Hojo’s experiments. Four years is a long time to mess with a person’s genetics. Who knows what got scrambled into both of their bodies? Especially once they had both been labeled failures. 

They were both more than aware they were lucky Hojo decided to put them in stasis rather than to just destroy them.

Cloud’s motorcycle, Fenrir, roared into the spot where it was parked behind the bar and the kids excitedly ran outside to greet him.

Something Marlene had said struck Zack suddenly.

Did she say her ‘daddy said’?

Cissnei said that neither Marlene or Denzel were Cloud and Tifa’s. And really the girl looked too old to be Cloud’s… but she definitely spoke about her dad as if he was still alive and around…? Plus, he wasn’t totally sure how reliable Cissnei’s info was, considering she even admitted that she had been out of the loop for a while herself.

When the blonde finally made his way into the bar Marlene was hanging on his back and Denzel was next to him telling him something about another automobile, he saw in Edge early in the day. Vehicles that were running well, and didn’t look fresh out of the dump were rare these days and always something that Cloud and Denzel liked to talk about.

The blonde had shoved his goggles into his windswept hair when he had parked Fenrir, but now he tugged them the rest of the way off as Tifa called the kids away to help her with some new shipment boxes that had been delivered that morning.

“They really love you.” Zack said as Cloud situated himself in the booth next to him.

“Mm. I guess.”

Their shoulders were touching and when Cloud had sat down, he had instinctively reached for Zack’s arm just for reassurance, but neither of them thought too much of it. There was a part of the older SOLDIER that felt like he needed to be constantly reaching for Cloud as well. Nine months of habit was hard to break. Even if he hadn’t technically being doing it for the last three years.

Damn. This was complicated to remember.

“Sorry I had to leave.” Cloud said softly messing with the goggles he had dropped on the table.

“Nonsense! I don’t expect you to stop working because I showed up. You’ve got your own business to run! That’s a lot of responsibility.”

“Yeah.”

It was almost amusing how quiet Cloud was sometimes. Zack knew it wasn’t because he was shy, he just didn’t have a whole lot to say.

“Though, I was thinking, maybe you could take me with you next time?”

Familiar blue eyes looked up at him surprised. “You want to go with me on deliveries?”

“Absolutely! For one, I don’t really want to hang around here all day. Tifa n’ the kids are great and all, but I’ll get bored quick. Also, I am really interested in what your job entails!”

Cloud shrugged leaning on his elbows on the table. “It’s not that exciting. People call with packages they need delivered, I go collect them, and deliver them.”

“On the sweetest motorcycle I’ve ever seen!”

There was a slight blush at that. “Fenrir _is_ pretty special.”

“Denzel told me you built it.”

“Not completely. I bought the bike from the guy who owned the building before Tifa. It was kind of part of the agreement in buying the place. Then I just fixed it up a bit.”

Zack snorted. “I’ll say! That thing is amazing. You’ve got to take me out on it soon. Or let me drive it.”

“I don’t think so.” Cloud smirked.

Zack whined loudly.

“But I guess we could go for a ride. There’s somewhere I want to take you anyway.”

“Lead the way!”

As they were heading out the door Zack paused in the entryway. “Shouldn’t we tell Tifa we’re leaving?”

“Nah. She’ll figure it out.”

Zack shrugged and followed him.

The two seemed really close, but it seemed that they didn’t really have _that_ sort of relationship. At least not from what he could tell.

* * *

Riding on Fenrir was easily one of the coolest experiences of Zack’s life. The scenery speeding by, the smell of gasoline and leather. The feeling of Cloud’s muscles tensing and shifting as he controlled the vehicle, with Zack’s arms wrapped around him. It felt like they were flying.

He remembered watching his mentor and idol fly in a flurry of feathers.

_“Those wings… I want them too.”_

This was almost like an answer to that wish. 

He hadn’t asked Cloud where they were going, but as they got further away from Edge, he felt the muscles in the blonde’s body tense up even more. After a while it became clear where they were heading. Some place that really, Zack would have thought he’d never want to go. Nor Cloud for that matter. So, what were they doing here on the cliffside?

With Fenrir parked and the kickstand holding it up they dismounted. There were no words as he silently followed Cloud toward the edge.

Standing tall, rusted and buried in the dirt was his Buster Sword. It was clearly a marker. A memoriam.

“I know how much that sword meant to you…” Cloud finally spoke up. “Sorry I didn’t take better care of it.”

“You used it save the planet, right? I think you took great care of it.”

Cloud shrugged but stayed silent as they looked at the blade, and the ruined city beyond it.

This was the first time Zack managed to catch a glimpse of Midgar since waking up… it looked worse than he had thought.

“A lot really can happen in three years huh?” He sighed.

Cloud nodded. “Yeah. Zack. What… what all do you know about what happened?”

“Most of it, I guess. Cissnei updated me on a lot when I woke up. Reno added a few more things when I saw him later.”

The blonde rolled his eyes at the mention of the red headed Turk. “Right.”

“Is there something specific I should know?” Zack asked lightly.

“I don’t know… Probably. Yeah.” Cloud crossed his arms with a sigh. “Yeah. Zack… the first thing you should know is… I forgot you. For a long time. I didn’t remember you existed.”

He saw the tenseness in the shorter man’s shoulders as he admitted to his amnesia. The first time Cissnei had told him of Cloud’s mental state, and how it seemed that he had taken on Zack’s life as his own persona, it had hurt a bit.

“I won’t lie Spike.” Zack shifted from one foot to another. “Cissnei kinda told me about that. She didn’t know everything. But she suspected that you had somehow forgotten me or thought you were me? I don’t know. At first… I was a bit hurt. But just a little bit.” He held up his fingers showing the smallest space in between them for a visual. “But the fact is, you had severe Mako poisoning. If that was the only real negative side effect from it then you were really lucky. And if you are going to pretend to be anyone, why not the best First Class SOLDIER Shinra ever had?” He grinned cheekily.

At first Cloud just stared, but then he sighed and shook his head with a small smile. “How are you always so…”

“Optimistic?”

“Something like that.”

“I don’t know. It’s better than the alternative.”

“I was a failed experiment. I had slim to no chances of recovery. You should have left me, and gone to Midgar yourself.”

“How do you know that?”

“Vincent. He found the research in the Shinra Manor. When he realized who the ‘failed experiments’ were he brought me copies of all the data. I was a lost cause and you dragged me all over Gaia because… why? You’re too nice? I was just another infantryman. I was no one. A failure in every sense!”

“Enough.” Zack’s voice dipped into the authoritative tone he used to give his old squads. “First. You were not just some infantry man, we were – _are_ – friends. Second, they did just as many horrible things to my body as they did to yours. They probably did worse to you once they realized that my body had already built up a tolerance to Mako from the SOLDIER infusions.” Zack reached forward and pulled Cloud into a tight embrace. “Listen. No matter what, I need you to know – I never regretted bringing you with me. You saved me just as much as I saved you Cloud. I was going through a lot… and having you with me every step of the way… it meant more to me than you’ll ever know. You are my best friend. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Cloud was stiff for a moment before leaning into the hug and wrapping his own arms around the taller man.

“Anything else you need to get off your chest?” Zack asked quietly resting his chin lightly in the blonde spikes.

“A-Aerith…”

“I know.” Zack tilted his head so that he could bury his face in his hair. “I already know Cloud. It’s not your fault.”

“You weren’t there…”

“No. But I know her. That girl spoke with the planet after all.” He hiccupped on a small chuckle. “Odds are that she knew what was coming all along.”

Cloud gripped the back of Zack’s shirt tighter. “It was her that saved the planet. If she hadn’t been in the Lifestream… to enact Holy… and then again at the church… it was her all along.”

“I guarantee it.”

Suddenly the blonde pulled back. “Wait. But before.… with the Geostigma, I spoke to you.”

Zack raised an eyebrow, and tilted his head slightly to the side. “Huh?”

“Never mind.” Cloud muttered blushing looking away.

“You can tell me.”

“Forget it.”

“Alright. Let me know when you change your mind.”

“Mhm.”

They stood there watching the sunset over Gaia. It was peacefully. The warm day was starting to cool as the sun sunk lower in the horizon. Distantly they could hear some animal or monster howling, communicating with its pack. When the stars finally started peeking through the atmosphere Cloud spoke up again.

“So, what’s your plan now?”

Zack laced his fingers behind his head looking up at the sky. “I guess I’m a free man now huh? I hadn’t thought about it too much. Before the plan was to become mercenaries with you.”

“There’s really not a big need for mercs these days.”

“I figured. Hmm…” Zack dropped down and did a few squats to get his blood pumping again. “How about working with you? Need another delivery guy?”

Cloud looked at him surprised. “You… want to stay with me?”

“Of course, I do! We’re friends, right?”

There was a hesitant pause, but he nodded all the same. “Yeah. Best friends.”

“Then what’s better than working with your best friend?”

Cloud shrugged with a small chuckle. “Nothing, I guess. Let’s head back.”

“Wait!” Zack followed him toward Fenrir. “Does that mean I got the job?”

“We’ll see.”

“Cloooud!”

“Fine. I guess it’s yours.”

“Yes!” Zack pumped a fist in the air as Cloud kicked the kicked stand and started the engine. “Does that mean I get to drive Fenrir then?”

“Nope.”

“Aww why not?!”

“We’ll get you your own bike or something.”

“Deal!”

As they took off towards Edge Zack rested his head against Cloud’s back, the leather of his jacket still warm from the sun. It was insane to think what they had been through. To think that he had died _twice_ and been brought back to life both times. That meant something. And not just that Zack was too stubborn to die. It meant he had friends looking out for him. Also, that he must be the luckiest guy in all of Gaia despite how rotten his life may seem up to this point.

He thought of Aerith.

_I have twenty-three tiny wishes…_

_But you probably won’t remember them all._

_So, I put them all together into one._

_I’d like to spend more time with you…_

He never did get to spend more time with her.

There was a part of him he knew would always regret not getting to be with her more.

But he knew her. She wouldn’t want him to be sad thinking of regrets forever. She would tell him that it was ok to be sad, but also important to move on and do what was best for everyone.

He would do just that.

He wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

He was here, because the friends he had made. Never again would he prioritize a job or mission over those he loved and cared about. He had always loved his friends and did his best to take care of them. That was not the real issue. But being a hero was only worth it if you had someone to protect.

No more wasting time. This was his third chance to live and make it worth living.

“No falling asleep back there.” Cloud’s voice called back to him.

“I wasn’t! Just thinking.”

“Anything you want to share?” It was quiet, uncertain. Cloud said they were best friends. And he meant it. But he didn’t know what that all entailed yet.

“Not really.”

“Just a warning,” Cloud glanced at him as they got off of Fenrir back at Seventh Heaven. “You hang around here long enough and Tifa’s going to put you to work around the bar.”

“No problem! I’m sure I can handle it.”

“You’ve never had to clean up to Tifa standards.”

Zack laughed. “Well maybe we should get our own place somewhere then. No scary bartenders.”

As soon as he said it, he wanted to take it back. What was he thinking? Cloud wasn’t going to leave Tifa and the kids just because he showed up again three years later. It had just been a slip of the tongue. His mind still was assuming that Cloud just went where he did. But the blonde had his own life now. He didn’t need Zack anymore like before.

However, to his absolute shock, Cloud paused before opening the door and looked over at him, considering his words. “Yeah. Maybe we should.”

**Author's Note:**

> [@InsomniacTiger](https://twitter.com/InsomniacTiger)  
> Come say Hi over on Twitter! I post updates for my stories and art! :)


End file.
